Low-speed sensorless brushless motor control in a power tool

ABSTRACT

A control unit for a brushless DC motor of a power tool having a rotor and a stator is provided. The control unit detects an initial position of the rotor, commutates the motor beginning at the initial position of the rotor using a low-speed motor commutation scheme until an output speed of the rotor exceeds a speed threshold, and commutates the motor based on a back-electromotive force (back-EMF) voltage of the motor after the output speed of the rotor exceeds the speed threshold. In the low-speed commutation scheme, the control unit applies a first set of voltage pulses to a present sector and a second set of voltage pulses to a next sector, and detects a transition of the rotor from the present sector to the next sector based on motor current measurements associated with the first set of voltage pulses and the second set of voltage pulses.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/853,123 filed Apr. 20, 2020, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/838,560 filed Apr. 25, 2019, and U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/955,586 filed Dec. 31, 2019, contents ofboth of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

FIELD

This disclosure relates to sensorless motor controls, and in particularto sensorless control of brushless motors in power tools.

BACKGROUND

Power tools may be of different types depending on the type of outputprovided by the power tool. For example, a power tool may be a drill,hammer, grinder, impact wrench, circular saw, reciprocating saw, and soon. Some power tools may be powered by an alternating current (AC) powersource while others may be portable and may be powered by a directcurrent (DC) power source such as a battery pack. Power tools may use ACor DC motors.

Some power tools have a movable switch such as a trigger or a speed dialthat can be used to vary the speed of the motor or the power output bythe tool. The switch can be moved from a resting position where thepower output of the tool is minimum (e.g., zero), and a fully activated(e.g., pulled) position where the power output of the tool is maximum.Thus, the tool can output the maximum power only when the trigger isfully activated. Also, after the trigger is fully activated, the tool'spower output cannot be increased beyond its maximum power. The presentdisclosure addresses these and other issues related to power tools asdescribed below in the detail.

Use of Brushless Direct-Current (BLDC) motors in power tools has becomecommon in recent years. A typical BLDC motor includes a stator includinga series of windings that form three or more phases, and a rotorincluding a series of magnets that magnetically interact with the statorwindings. As the phases of the windings are sequentially energized, theycause rotation of the rotor. BLDC motors generate more power and aremore efficient that similarly-sized conventional brushes DC motors anduniversal motors. BLDC motors are electronically commutated, requiring acontroller to commutate proper phases of the motor based on the angularposition of the rotor. Conventionally, the motor is provided with aseries of Hall sensors that detect a magnetic field of the rotor andprovide signals to the controller indicative of the rotor position.

Known techniques for sensorless control of BLDC motors are available inapplications such as outdoor products where the motor operates atpredictable speed ranges. One such technique involves monitoring themotor induced voltage generated by the back-electromotive force(back-EMF) of the motor in the motor windings to detect a rotationalposition of the motor. Specifically, as the rotor rotates it inducescurrent through a non-active phase of the motor, which can be detectedby the controller to estimate a rotary location of the rotor. Suchtechniques are suitable for motor applications designed to operate athigh speed. For many power tool applications such as drills, impactdrivers, etc. that operate over various speed and torque ranges,however, use of such techniques alone may not be suitable. This isparticularly true for power tools operating at very low speed, where theuser may turn the tool in a direction opposite the intended motorrotation, causing the rotor to rotate in an unexpected direction. Whatis thus needed is a sensorless control technique suitable for use withpower tools that operate at low speed/high torque ranges.

Additionally, various techniques are known for increasing and optimizingpower output of a BLDC motor. One such technique involves increasing aconduction band of the phase voltages applied to the motor. Typically,in trapezoidal motor control for a three-phase BLDC motor, theconduction band is set to 120 electrical degrees and only two phasesconduct at a given time. It has been found, however, that increasing theconduction band to more than 120 electrical degrees, thus allowing someoverlap between the phases of the motor, increasing the motor poweroutput. A similar technique involves increasing an advance angle bywhich each phase current of the motor is shifted relative to the rotorposition. A variable conduction band and/or advance angle control can beimplemented relative to the rotor position with relative ease when usingHall sensors. What is needed is a technique for implementation ofvariable conduction band and/or advance angle control in a sensorlesscontrol scheme.

Moreover, in BLDC control system, the motor control is prone to defectsand errors due to electromechanical faults or software bugs. US PatentPublication No. 2017/0373614 discloses a secondary controller forredundancy control responsible for shutting off power to the motor inthe event of motor overspeed or incorrect rotor rotation. The secondarycontroller in this system receives the Hall signals to calculate motorspeed and direction of rotation. What is needed is a secondarycontroller capable of protecting the motor against overspeed orincorrect rotor rotation in a sensorless control scheme.

SUMMARY

According to an embodiment of the invention, a power tool is providedincluding a brushless motor having a stator defining a plurality ofphases, a rotor rotatable relative to the stator, and power terminalselectrically connected to the phases of the motor. A power unit isprovided including power switches connected electrically between a powersource and the motor terminals and operable to deliver power to themotor, and a control unit is interfaced with the power unit to output adrive signal to one or more of the plurality of motor switches to drivethe plurality of phases of the motor over a plurality of sectors of therotor rotation. In an embodiment, the control unit is configured todetect an initial position of the rotor, commutate the motor beginningat the initial position of the rotor using a low-speed motor commutationscheme until an output speed of the rotor exceeds a speed threshold, andcommutate the motor based on a back-electromotive force (back-EMF)voltage of the motor after the output speed of the rotor exceeds thespeed threshold. In the low-speed commutation scheme, the control unitapplies a first set of voltage pulses to a present sector and a secondset of voltage pulses to a next sector, and detects a transition of therotor from the present sector to the next sector based on motor currentmeasurements associated with the first set of voltage pulses and thesecond set of voltage pulses.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and arenot intended to limit the scope of this disclosure in any way.

FIG. 1 depicts a side cross-sectional view of a power tool, according toan embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 depicts a partial cross-sectional view of a conventional motorwith positional sensors, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 3 depicts a partial cross-sectional view of a sensorless BLDCmotor, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 4 depicts a circuit block diagram of a battery-powered power toolincluding a motor and a motor control circuit, according to anembodiment;

FIG. 5 depicts a circuit block diagram of a corded power tool, accordingto an embodiment;

FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary power switch circuit configured as athree-phase inverter bridge circuit, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary waveform diagram of a pulse-width modulation(PWM) drive sequence of the three-phase inventor bridge circuit within afull 360-degree conduction cycle, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 8 depicts an exemplary waveform diagram of the detected motor phasevoltages during a full 360-degree rotation of the motor, according to anembodiment;

FIG. 9 depicts a simple flow diagram for sensorless motor commutation,according to an embodiment;

FIG. 10 depicts a table of sequence of voltage pulses injected duringInitial Position Detection (IPD), according to an embodiment;

FIG. 11 depicts an exemplary diagram showing the measured currentcorresponding to each voltage pulse, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 12 depicts an exemplary sector diagram of the motor showing theidentified sector corresponding to the initial position based on themeasured current pulses, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 13 depicts an exemplary table representing commutation sequencedata used by the controller for controlling the motor commutation,according to an embodiment;

FIG. 14 depicts an exemplary waveform diagram including voltage testpulses injected to consecutive sectors to determine commutation timingof the next sector, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 15 depicts an exemplary waveform diagram showing motor commutationsequence within a full 360 degree of rotor rotation and test pulses foreach sector, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 16 depicts a flow diagram for Low-Speed Motor Commutation (LSMC),according to an embodiment;

FIG. 17 depicts an exemplary waveform diagram showing sampling of theopen phase voltage for detection of a zero-crossing, according to anembodiment;

FIG. 18 depicts an exemplary waveform diagram showing the samplingtechnique of FIG. 17 at high speed, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 19 depicts an exemplary waveform diagram showing an improvedsampling technique at high speed, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 20 depicts an exemplary flow diagram for detecting thezero-crossing of the open-phase voltage at different motor speed rangesduring execution of commutation using motor back-EMF, according to anembodiment;

FIG. 21 depicts a waveform diagram of the control sequence of thethree-phase inventor bridge operating at 100% PWM duty cycle, accordingto an embodiment;

FIG. 22 depicts a waveform diagram of the control sequence of thethree-phase inventor bridge operating at 100% PWM duty cycle with anadvance angle of 30 degrees, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 23 depicts a waveform diagram of the control sequence of thethree-phase inventor bridge operating at 100% PWM duty cycle with aconduction band of 150 degrees, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 24 depicts a waveform diagram of the control sequence of thethree-phase inventor bridge operating at 100% PWM duty cycle with aconduction band of 150 degrees and an advance angle of 45 degrees,according to an embodiment;

FIG. 25 depicts an exemplary waveform diagram showing the motor voltagesignals used for sensorless motor control, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 26 depicts an exemplary waveform diagram showing the motor voltagesignals with a conduction band/advance angle of 120/30 degrees used forsensorless motor control, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 27 depicts an exemplary waveform diagram showing the motor voltagesignals with a conduction band/advance angle of 120/15 degrees used forsensorless motor control, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 28 depicts an exemplary waveform diagram showing the motor voltagesignals with a conduction band/advance angle of 120/45 degrees used forsensorless motor control, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 29 depicts an exemplary waveform diagram showing the motor voltagesignals with a conduction band/advance angle of 150/30 degrees used forsensorless motor control, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 30 depicts an exemplary flow diagram for process executed bycontroller to apply variable conduction band and/or advance angle insensorless trapezoidal motor control of a multi-phase motor, accordingto an embodiment;

FIG. 31 depicts an exemplary waveform diagram showing the motor voltagesignals with a conduction band/advance angle of 120/30 degrees at highload, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 32 depicts an exemplary waveform diagram similar to FIG. 32 , butwith the trailing edge of the conduction band shifted by 20 degrees toachieve a conduction band/advance angle of 150/30 degrees, according toan embodiment.

FIG. 33 depict an exemplary circuit block diagram of power tool similarto FIG. 5 but including an alternative secondary controllerconnectivity, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 34 depicts a waveform diagram of low-side gate driver signalsdriven with PWM control, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 35 depicts a waveform diagram of the low-side gate drive signalsafter low-pass filtration, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 36 depicts a waveform diagram of the two sinusoidal waveformsobtained from the three low-side gate drive signals, according to anembodiment;

FIG. 37 depicts a waveform diagram of the two sinusoidal waveforms afterfurther filtration used for speed and direction detection, according toan embodiment;

FIG. 38 depicts an exemplary flow diagram for process executed by thesecondary controller to determine motor speed, according to anembodiment;

FIG. 39 depicts an exemplary flow diagram for process executed by thesecondary controller to determine whether the rotor is rotating in anincorrect direction, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 40 depicts an exemplary flow diagram for process executed by thesecondary controller to determine whether the rotor is rotating in anincorrect direction when controlling motor commutation with variableconduction band, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 41 depicts an exemplary waveform diagram of a pulse-widthmodulation (PWM) drive sequence using synchronous rectification (alsoreferred to as active freewheeling) within a full 360-degree conductioncycle, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 42 depicts an exemplary flow diagram for process executed by thesecondary controller for proper detection of commutation signal risingand falling edges commutation used for speed and rotation detection whencontrolling motor commutation with active freewheeling, according to anembodiment;

FIG. 43 depicts a partial block circuit diagram of power tool aspreviously described wherein the secondary controller is utilized assecondary tool fault detection and protection, according to anembodiment; and

FIG. 44 depicts a partial block circuit diagram of power tool aspreviously described wherein the secondary controller is provided withoverride of drive and braking control, according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description illustrates the claimed invention by way ofexample and not by way of limitation. The description clearly enablesone skilled in the art to make and use the disclosure, describes severalembodiments, adaptations, variations, alternatives, and uses of thedisclosure, including what is presently believed to be the best mode ofcarrying out the claimed invention. Additionally, it is to be understoodthat the disclosure is not limited in its application to the details ofconstruction and the arrangements of components set forth in thefollowing description or illustrated in the drawings. The disclosure iscapable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried outin various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology andterminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should notbe regarded as limiting.

Power Tool Employing Sensorless Control Scheme Using Motor Back-EMF

Referring to FIG. 1 , a side cross-sectional view of a power tool 10 isprovided. In an embodiment, power tool 10 includes a housing 12, a motor16 housed therein, a module casing 18, and a planar circuit board 20.The housing 12 includes a motor case 22 that supports the motor 16 and ahandle portion 23.

A gear case 24 is secured to an end of the motor case 22 opposite thehandle portion 23. The gear case 24 includes at least one gearset 26, anoutput shaft 27, and a threaded opening 28 to which an accessory tool issecured, either directly or via a nut (not shown). The gearset 26 ispositioned within the gear case 24 and is drivably coupled to the motor16. The output shaft 27 is drivably connected to the gearset 26 withinthe gear case 24 and extends perpendicular to the longitudinal axis ofthe housing 12. A trigger or sliding switch (not shown) is positioned ona side of the motor case 22 and allows for the user to turn the powertool 10 ON and OFF.

The handle portion 23 extends axially from the motor case 22 toward asecond end of the housing 12 and includes two clamp shells or housingcovers that mate with the module casing 18 around the planar circuitboard 20. An alternative-current (AC) power cord 32 is attached to thehandle portion 23 at the second end of the housing 12 to supply ACelectric power to the power tool 10, though it should be understood thatpower tool 10 may include a battery receptacle at the end of the handleportion 23 for removeably receiving a battery pack to supplydirect-current (DC) power to the power tool 10.

Planar circuit board includes a control circuit board 42 and a powercircuit board 44 arranged along the axis of the power tool 10substantially in parallel. Control circuit board 42 accommodates acontroller (not shown) and associated circuitry for controlling thespeed and other operation of the motor 16. Power circuit board 44accommodates a series of power switches (not shown), which may beconfigured as, for example, a multi-phase inverter switch circuit, thatare controlled by the controller and regulate the supply of power fromthe power cord 32 to the motor 16. Power circuit board 44 furtherincludes one or more capacitors 46 as well as a rectifier (not shown)that generate a DC voltage on a DC bus line supplied to the powerswitches.

Additionally, an auxiliary capacitor 45 may be housed at the end of thehandle portion 23 that can be switchably connected to the DC bus linewhen the AC voltage includes large voltage ripples, as described indetail in U.S. Pat. No. 10,050,572 filed Jun. 15, 2017, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

While the present description is provided with reference to a grinder,it is readily understood that the broader aspects of the presentdisclosure are applicable to other types of power tools, including butnot limited to sander, drill, impact driver, tapper, fastener driver,and saw. For example, the power tool 10 may include a chuck that isconfigured to receive a drill bit or a screw bit, thereby allowing thepower tool 10 to be used as a power drill or a power screwdriver. Formore detail of an exemplary power tool described above, reference ismade to U.S. Pat. No. 10,226,849 filed Sep. 12, 2016, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

In an embodiment, motor 16 is a brushless direct-current (BLDC) motorincluding a rotor including rotor shaft 40 on which a rotor laminationstack 41 accommodating a series of permanent magnets (not shown) ismounted. The motor 16 further includes a stator including a statorlamination stack 50 on which a series of stator windings 52 are wound.The rotor lamination stack 41 is received within the stator laminationstack 50 and magnetically interacts with the stator windings 52 to causerotation of the rotor shaft 40 around a longitudinal axis of the tool10. In an embodiment, as described in detail in this disclosure, motor16 is a sensorless BLDC motor, meaning it includes no sense magnet orpositional sensor to help the controller control the commutation of themotor 16.

Referring to FIG. 2 , a partial cross-sectional view of a conventionalmotor with positional sensors is depicted. As shown here, motor 16 isprovided with a radial wall or end cap 56 with an opening 58 thatreceives the rotor shaft 40 therethrough. The end cap 56 forms a bearingpocket 54 around the rotor shaft 40 opposite the rotor lamination stack41. Bearing pocket 54 securely receives and support a rotor bearing 47therein to structurally support the rotor with respect to the stator.Additionally, bearing pocket 54 houses a sense magnet ring 43 that isalso mounted on the rotor shaft 40. A radial slot 66 formed in thebearing pocket 54 allows for insertion of a positional sensor board 64in close proximity to the sense magnet ring 43. Positional sensor board64 supports a series of Hall sensors 60, which sense the position of thesense magnet ring 43 and provide the angular position of the rotor tothe controller.

FIG. 3 depicts a partial cross-sectional view of a sensorless BLDC motoraccording to embodiments of this disclosure. In an embodiment, motor 16is similar to the motor of FIG. 2 but does not include a sense magnetand a positional sensor board. Bearing pocket 70 in this embodimentincludes a recess facing the motor 16 that is large enough to receiveand support the rotor bearing 47. The bearing pocket 70 need not havethe length to receive a sense magnet and a positional sensor board andis therefore at most 50% smaller in width than bearing pocket 54 of FIG.2 . This decrease contributes to an overall reduction of 5-20millimeters from the length of the motor. It also reduces manufacturingcosts and eases the assembly process.

Referring to FIG. 4 , a circuit block diagram of battery-powered powertool 10 including a motor 16 and a motor control circuit 204 isdepicted, according to an embodiment. In an embodiment, motor controlcircuit 204 includes a power unit 206 and a control unit 208. Componentsof power unit 206 and control unit 208 may be respectively mounted onpower circuit board 44 and control circuit board 42 of FIG. 1 . In FIG.4 , power tool 10 received DC power from a DC power source such as abattery pack, such as a removeable battery pack, via B+ and B−terminals, on a DC bus line 221.

In an embodiment, power unit 206 may include a power switch circuit 226coupled to between the DC bus line 221 and motor windings to drive BLDCmotor 16. In an embodiment, power switch circuit 226 may be athree-phase bridge driver circuit including six controllablesemiconductor power devices, e.g. Field-Effect Transistors (FETs),Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJTs), Insulated-Gate Bipolar Transistors(IGBTs), etc.

In an embodiment, control unit 208 may include a controller 230, a gatedriver 232, a power supply regulator 234, and a power switch 236. In anembodiment, controller 230 is a programmable device arranged to controla switching operation of the power devices in power switching circuit226. In an embodiment, controller 230 calculates the rotational positionof the rotor using a variety of method, including by measuring theinductive voltage of the motor 16, also referred to as the motorback-EMF (Electro-Motive Force) voltage, as discussed later in detail.Controller 230 may also receive a variable-speed signal fromvariable-speed actuator or a speed-dial. Based on the calculated rotorposition and the variable-speed signal, controller 230 controlscommutation sequence of the motor 16. This is done by outputting drivesignals UH, VH, WH, UL, VL, and WL through the gate driver 232, whichprovides a voltage level needed to drive the gates of the semiconductorswitches within the power switch circuit 226. By control a PWM switchingoperation of the power switch circuit 226 via the drive signals, thecontroller 230 controls the direction and speed by which the motorwindings are sequentially energized, thus electronically controlling themotor 16 commutation.

In an embodiment, power supply regulator 234 may include one or morevoltage regulators to step down the power supply to a voltage levelcompatible for operating the controller 230 and/or the gate driver 232.In an embodiment, power supply regulator 234 may include a buckconverter and/or a linear regulator to reduce the power voltage of thepower supply to, for example, 15V for powering the gate driver 232, anddown to, for example, 3.2V for powering the controller 230.

In an embodiment, power switch 236 may be provided between the powersupply regulator 234 and the gate driver 232. Power switch 236 may be acurrent-carrying ON/OFF switch coupled to the ON/OFF trigger or thevariable-speed actuator to allow the user to begin operating the motor16, as discussed above. Power switch 236 in this embodiment disablessupply of power to the motor 16 by cutting power to the gate drivers232. It is noted, however, that power switch 236 may be provided at adifferent location, for example, within the power unit 206 between therectifier circuit 220 and the power switch circuit 226. It is furthernoted that in an embodiment, power tool 128 may be provided without anON/OFF switch 236, and the controller 230 may be configured to activatethe power devices in power switch circuit 226 when the ON/OFF trigger(or variable-speed actuator) is actuated by the user.

FIG. 5 depicts a block circuit diagram of a corded power tool 10 thatreceived powers from an AC power supply such as, for example, an ACpower generator or the power grid. As the name implies, BLDC motors aredesigned to work with DC power. Thus, in an embodiment, power unit 206is provided with a rectifier circuit 220 on between the power supply andthe power switch circuit 226. In an embodiment, power from the AC powerlines as designated by VAC and GND is passed through the rectifiercircuit 220 to convert or remove the negative half-cycles of the ACpower, thus providing a DC voltage on the DC bus line 221. In anembodiment, rectifier circuit 220 may include a full-wave bridge dioderectifier 222 to convert the negative half-cycles of the AC power topositive half-cycles. Alternatively, in an embodiment, rectifier circuit220 may include a half-wave rectifier to eliminate the half-cycles ofthe AC power. In an embodiment, rectifier circuit 220 may furtherinclude a bus capacitor 224 provided on the DC bus line 221. In anotherembodiment, active rectification may be employed, e.g., for active powerfactor correction. In an embodiment, bus capacitor 224 may have arelatively small value to reduce voltage high-frequency transients onthe AC power supply, without significantly smoothening the AC voltagewaveform.

FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary power switch circuit 226 configured as athree-phase inverter bridge circuit, according to an embodiment. Thiscircuit corresponds to a three-phase motor including, for example, 3sets of windings pairs, with each pair wound on two opposite statorteeth. It should be understood that the inverter bridge circuit mayinclude more phases corresponding to a higher number of phases of themotor. As shown herein, the three-phase inverter bridge circuit includesthree high-side FETs and three low-side FETs. The gates of the high-sideFETs driven via drive signals UH, VH, and WH, and the gates of thelow-side FETs are driven via drive signals UL, VL, and WL. In anembodiment, the drains of the high-side FETs are coupled to the sourcesof the low-side FETs to output power signals PU, PV, and PW for drivingthe BLDC motor 16.

In an embodiment, a resistor R_Shunt is disposed in series with thenegative terminal of the power supply. Resistor R_Shunt is used by thecontroller 230 to measure the instantaneous current through the motor16, for the purposes described later in this disclosure.

FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary waveform diagram of a pulse-width modulation(PWM) drive sequence of the three-phase inventor bridge circuit of FIG.8 within a full 360-degree conduction cycle. In an embodiment,controller 230 controls power switch circuit 226 to supply trapezoidalvoltage waveforms to each phase of the motor 16. In an embodiment wheremotor 16 is a three-phase motor, each trapezoidal waveform includes aconduction band (or conduction angle) of 120 degrees during normaloperation, for a total of 360 degrees of rotor rotation. Specifically,as shown in this figure, within a full 360° cycle, each of the drivesignals associated with the high-side and low-side power switches isactivated during a 120° conduction band (“CB”). In this manner, eachassociated phase of the motor is energized by activating a high-sideswitch and a low-side switch, which create a current path through theassociated phase of the motor. In this example, the high-side switchesare pulse-width modulated by the control unit 208 as a function of thedesired motor 16 rotational speed, while the low-side switches areactive-high for the duration of their conduction band. It should benoted, however, that low-side switches may alternatively besynchronously rectified. During the CB of a high-side switch, thecorresponding low-side switch is kept low, but the other two low-sideswitches are activated for half the CB of the high-side switch toprovide a current path between the power supply and the motor windings.For simplicity, the 360-degree of rotor rotation can be divided to sixsectors of 60 degrees each, where within each sector, only one of thehigh-side switches and one of the low-side switches is active.

Referring back to FIGS. 4 and 5 , controller 230 detects the angularposition of the rotor using various methods described herein, andparticularly using the motor back-EMF above a certain speed threshold.Motor back-EMF results from inductive current generated on the floatingphase of the motor as a result of magnetic interaction between thatphase and the rotor magnets as the rotor rotates. The voltage shape ofthe back-EMF signal waveform for each phase is indicative of therotational location of the motor.

In an embodiment, to detect the motor back-EMF voltage, an attenuator240 is electrically coupled to the U, V, and W terminals of the motor16. Attenuator 240 is a voltage divider that, in an exemplaryembodiment, includes two resistors, and simply divides the voltage by aconstant in order to reduce the motor back-EMF voltage to a voltage thatis within the operating voltage range of the motor (e.g., typically 3.3vor 5v). A Low-Pass Filter (LPF) 242 is coupled to the output of theattenuator 240 to remove impulse noise and, in an embodiment, convertthe PWM pulse drain to an analog voltage by averaging the high and lowperiods of the back-EMF voltage signal.

The controller 230 receives three voltage output from the LPF 242corresponding to the phases of the motor 16. As the motor 16 iscommutated, the controller 230 monitors the motor back-EMF voltage onthe open phase of the motor 16. The open phase refers to the phase thatis not actively driven within a given sector. For example, within sector1 shown in FIG. 7 , where the controller 230 is driving UH and VL, thecontroller 230 monitors the voltage on phase W. By monitoringzero-crossing of the open-phase voltage, the controller 230 candetermine when to commutate the next sector. Furthermore, by monitoringthe frequency and sequence of the back-EMF phase voltages over a numberof sectors, the controller 230 is able to determine speed and rotationaldirection of the rotor. Controller 230 can take corrective action whenit determines that motor speed is too high, which may be caused bysystem failure, or the rotor is rotation in the correct direction, whichmay occur at start-up or during normal due to the power tool accessoryhitting a pinch on the workpiece. Such corrective action may include,but is not limited to, allowing the motor to coast, braking the motor,or correcting the commutation sequence of the motor to obtain thedesired speed or rotation direction.

In an embodiment, in addition to controller 230, control unit 208further includes a secondary controller 250 provided to determine motorspeed and rotation direction. Secondary controller 250 may be of thesame size and processing power as controller 230, or alternatively maybe a relatively small and low power processor. For example, secondarycontroller 250 may be a microprocessor or microcontroller chip, forexample an 8-bit micro-controller (such as a PIC10F200 Microchip®) thatis smaller and less expensive than controller 230. Controller 230 andsecondary controller 250 may be mounted on the same circuit board orseparate circuit boards disposed in different parts of the power tool10. In an embodiment, like controller 230, secondary controller receivesa low-voltage supply of power from the power supply regulator 234. Italso receives three voltage signals corresponding to phases of the motor16 from the LPF 242. However, unlike controller 230, secondarycontroller 250, secondary controller 250 does not control motorcommutation or other power tool control functions. Rather, secondarycontroller 250 is merely programmed to determine the speed androtational direction of the motor 16 based on the voltage signals fromthe LPF 242, and to shut down power to the motor 16 in the event itdetects an overspeed condition or incorrect rotation of the motor 16. Inan embodiment, secondary controller 250 shuts down power to the motor 16by activating a disable signal that disables the gate driver 232.Secondary controller 250 ensures, that in the event of electrical orsoftware failure by the controller 230, the motor 16 does not continueoperating at high speed or incorrect direction. Secondary controller 250is discussed in greater detail later in this disclosure.

Sensorless Start-Up and Low-Speed Motor Commutation Control

An aspect of the invention is described herein with reference to FIG.8-16 , according to an embodiment.

FIG. 8 depicts an exemplary waveform diagram of the motor phase voltagesdetected by the controller 230 during a full 360-degree rotation of themotor, according to an embodiment. In sector 1, as discussed above, thecontroller 230 actively drives U and V phases and designates W phase asthe open-phase on which the motor back-EMF is monitored. When thecontroller 230 detects a zero-crossing on the W phase within thissector, it determines that the rotor is in the middle of the presentsector. If no advance angle is provided, controller 230 begins tocommutate the next sector after a predetermined angle, e.g. in thisexample, 30 degrees. This sequence is continued in sector 2, where the Vphase is monitored for motor back-EMF, and so on.

As discussed above, controller 230 relies primarily on the motorback-EMF to calculate the position of the rotor and determine the exacttiming of the next commutation. While this execution is reliable atspeeds above a certain threshold, the motor back-EMF voltage is notsufficiently steady and reliable for sensorless rotor positiondetection. Furthermore, at start-up, the controller 230 needs to knowthe position of the rotor to start commutation. Accordingly, thecontroller 230 is programmed and configured to perform three differentalgorithms based on the speed of the motor, as described here.

Referring now to FIG. 9 , a flow diagram executed by the controller 230for sensorless motor commutation is described, according to anembodiment. In an embodiment, the controller 230 starts at step 300 andproceeds to execute a process herein referred to as Initial PositionDetection (IPD) at step 302. In this step, as described below in detail,the controller 230 detects the initial angular position of the rotor. Instep 304, the controller 230 determines whether the rotor speed is belowa transitory threshold. The transitory threshold in this example is 2000RPM, but may be higher or lower depending on motor size, power output,etc. If the speed is below the transitory threshold, which it isimmediately after IPD, controller 230 proceeds to execute a processherein referred to as Low Speed Motor Commutation (LSMC) at step 306.This process is used an as alternative to commutation using motorback-EMF and will be described below in detail. If the rotor speed isequal to or greater than the transitory threshold, the controller 230executed commutation using motor back-EMF, as described above withreference to FIG. 8 . In executing either process, the controller 230monitors a condition indicative of tool shut down to determine whetherto end motor operation in 310. Such condition may include, but is notlimited to, user release of the power tool trigger switch or a faultcondition such as motor over-voltage, over-current, over-temperature,etc. If such condition occurs, the controller 310 either brakes themotor or shuts off power to the motor to allow it to coast down.Otherwise, it repeats this process beginning at step 304.

The process of Initial Position Detection (IPD) is described herein withreference to FIGS. 10-12 , according to an embodiment.

FIG. 10 depicts a table of sequence of voltage pulses injected duringInitial Position Detection (IPD), according to an embodiment. In IPD,the controller 230 sequentially injects a series of voltage pulses toeach sector of the motor as shown in this table. For example, voltage V1is applied to sector 1 by activating switches S1 a, S2 b and S3 b (FIG.6 ) of the power switch circuit 226; voltage V1 is applied to sector 1by activating switches S1 a, S2 a and S3 b of the power switch circuit226; etc. In an embodiment, each pulse has a 50 μsec duration.

After each voltage pulse, the controller 230 measures the current acrossthe shunt resistor R_Shunt (FIG. 6 ). The sector corresponding to theposition of the rotor generates the highest inductive current inresponse to the voltage pulse. FIG. 11 depicts an exemplary diagramshowing the measured current corresponding to each voltage pulse. Thesector corresponding to the larger current measurement—in this examplesector 4—is identified by the controller 230 as the initial position ofthe rotor, as shown in FIG. 12 .

The Low Speed Motor Commutation (LSMC) process is described herein withreference to FIGS. 13-16 , according to an embodiment. In LSMC, thecontroller 230 relies on injection of voltage test pulses to the presentsector and the next expected sector to determine the timing of whencommutation should transition to the next sector, as described here indetail.

FIG. 13 exhibits an exemplary table representing commutation sequencedata stored in a memory (not shown) accessible by the controller 230 forcontrolling the motor commutation. Within each sector, controller 230can look up the present sector commutation sequence, as well as theprevious sector and next sector commutation sequence. For example, ifthe rotor is currently in sector 4, controller 230 can look up theprevious sector commutation sequence (VH, WL) and next sectorcommutation sequence (WH, UL) from the table.

FIG. 14 depicts an exemplary waveform diagram including voltage testpulses injected to consecutive sectors to determine commutation timingof the next sector, according to an embodiment. In this example, therotor is presently in sector 2, and therefore the present sectorcommutation sequence is UH (which is pulse-width modulated) and WL(which is kept HIGH for the duration of the sector). In an embodiment,controller 230 controls the drive signals such that, the PWM drive isperiodically paused after every set number of cycles. Two test voltagepulses having the same width (T_(p)) are injected on (UH, WL) (for thepresent sector) and (VH, WL) (for the next sector) in sequence. Thecontroller 230 also monitors the motor current via R_Shunt (FIG. 6 ) anddetermines the slope of the motor current corresponding to the two testvoltage pulses. If the motor determines that the ΔI<0, where ΔI=ΔI_(U)(Slope of the present sector current)−ΔI_(V) (Slope of the next sectorcurrent), it continues to commutate the present sector. This process isrepeated for as long as ΔI<0. Once controller 230 detects that ΔI>0, itdesignates sector 3 as the present sector, and process is continued byperiodically injecting test voltage pulses into sector 3 (presentsector) and sector 4 (next sector).

It is noted that FIG. 14 merely depicts a transition period betweensectors 2 and 3, and actual number of PWM cycles and test pulses withineach sector is much greater than shown.

In an embodiment, instead of comparing slopes of the currentmeasurements, the applied voltage pulses may be of fixed width and therise in amplitude in the measured motor currents may be comparedinstead. Alternatively, voltage pulses may be applied until theassociated measured current increases to a predetermined amplitude, andthe width of the voltage pulses may be compared.

In an embodiment, the controller may execute PWM control of the powerswitch circuit 226 at a lower frequency below a low-frequency speedthreshold. In an embodiment, this low-frequency speed threshold may bethe same as the transitory threshold (for example 2,000 rpm) discussedabove for transitioning between the LSMC commutation and commutationusing motor back-EMF. Alternatively, this low-frequency threshold may beset to a lower or higher speed value. In an embodiment, below thelow-frequency speed threshold, the controller 230 executes PWM controlat a lower frequency to allow itself more time to inject test pulses andmeasure the associated motor currents. Once motor speed reaches and/orexceeds the low-frequency speed threshold, the controller reverts to itsnormal operating frequency for PWM control.

In an alternative embodiment, the PWM control of the power switchcircuit 226 remains the set at the normal operating frequency, even atlow speed, while the motor is being commutated, and the frequency is setto a lower value during periods in which the PWM drive is paused andtest pulses are being injected. For example, in FIG. 14 , the operatingfrequency may be set to a lower value (e.g., 10 kHz) while the two testpulses are being injected on (UH, WL) (for the present sector) and (VH,WL) (for the next sector), and to a normal operating frequency value(e.g., 20 kHz) for execution of PWM drive.

In an embodiment, the lower frequency value may be 40% to 60% of thenormal operating frequency. In an example, where normal operatingfrequency is 20 kHz, the lower frequency value may be approximately 10kHz.

A challenge that arises at very low speed operation of power tools isthat the rotor may inadvertently rotate in the incorrect direction dueto outside forces. This may occur, for example, when encountering apinch on the workpiece, where the inertia of the tool may cause the toolto rotate after the tool accessory gets stuck in the workpiece. Also,the user's attempts to disengage the accessory from the workpiece byturning the tool opposite to the intended direction may attribute tothis condition. It is important for the controller 230 to be able todetect when the rotor is rotating in the incorrect direction to takecorrective action and adjust the commutation sequence accordingly.

To address this problem, according to an embodiment of the invention,controller 230 subdivides each sector to two halves, and injects testvoltage pulses as described above only in the latter half of therespective segment. In the first half of the segment, instead ofinjecting test voltage pulses in the present sector and the next sector,controller 230 injects test voltage pulses in the present sector and theprevious sector. This is because incorrect rotation of the rotor islikely problematic in the first half of the sector, where movement ofthe rotor to the incorrect sector can have devastating effects oncommutation control. In this manner, if the controller 230 can detect ifthe rotor is inadvertently moved to the previous sector and adjust thecommutation sequence accordingly to correct the rotational direction ofthe motor.

FIG. 15 depicts an exemplary waveform diagram showing motor commutationsequence within a full 360 degree of rotor rotation and test pulses foreach sector, according to an embodiment. As shown here, within eachsector, a first set of pulses are injected in the present sector for theentirety of the sector. Within the first half of each sector, a secondset of test pulses are injected in the previous sector in order todetect inadvertent rotation of the rotor to the previous sector. Theslopes of current measurements corresponding to the respective first andsecond sets of test pulses are compared in a manner described above withrespect to FIG. 14 , and if it is determined that ΔI>0, where ΔI=(Slopeof the present sector current)−(Slope of the previous sector current),the controller 230 determines that the rotor has rotated inadvertentlyto the previous sector and takes corrective action. Within the secondhalf of the sector, a third set of test pulses are injected in the nextsector and slopes of current measurements corresponding to therespective first and third sets of test pulses are compared to determinecommutation of the next sector, as described with reference to FIG. 14 .

By way of example, if the rotor is currently in sector 2 (i.e., presentsector=UH, WL), within the first half of sector 2 (i.e., 60-90 degrees),the injection of test pulses occur on the present sector (UH, WL) andthe previous sector (UH, VL). If the slope of the current measurementcorresponding to the test pulse of the present sector is greater thanthe slope of the current measurement corresponding to the test pulse ofthe previous sector, the controller 230 determines that the rotor hasrotated incorrectly to sector 1. Within the second half of sector 2(i.e., 90-120 degrees), the injection of test pulses occurs on thepresent sector (UH, WL) and the next sector (VH, WL). If the slope ofthe current measurement corresponding to the test pulse of the presentsector is greater than the slope of the current measurementcorresponding to the test pulse of the next sector, the controller 230determines that the rotor has rotated to sector 3 and begins commutationof sector 3.

Similarly, if the rotor is currently in sector 3, within the first halfof sector 3 (i.e., 120-150 degrees), the injection of test pulses occuron (VH,WL) for the present sector and (VH, WL) for the previous sector.Within the second half of sector 3 (i.e., 150-180 degrees), theinjection of test pulses occurs on (VH, WL) for the present sector andthe (VH, WL) for the next sector.

In an embodiment, controller 230 monitors the open-phase voltage withineach sector and, as shown in FIG. 15 , transitions between the firsthalf of the sector and the second half of the sector when it detects azero-crossing of the open-phase voltage. In an embodiment, although theback-EMF voltage is generally unreliable at low speed for detecting thetiming of commutation of the next sector, it is sufficiently reliablefor detecting, at least to close proximity, the halfway point of eachsector where the controller 230 should begin monitoring the next sectorinstead of the previous sector.

In an embodiment, controller 230 determines a half-way point of the DCbus voltage waveform (e.g., 60V for a power tool powered by a 120Vnominal voltage power supply) and compares the open-phase voltage to theDC bus halfway point (half_bus). If the BEMF is falling for the presentsector and open-phase voltage>half_bus, controller 230 determines thatthe actual rotor position is in the first half of the present sector andcheck for transition to the previous sector to detect a possible bounceback. If the BEMF is falling for the present sector and open-phasevoltage<half_bus, controller 230 determines that the actual rotorposition is in the second half of the present sector and check fortransition to the next sector.

In an embodiment, controller 230 applies fix-width test pulses to thepresent sector and the previous and/or next sectors. Alternatively,controller 230 may apply variable-width pulses as suited. In that case,rather than comparison of the change of current amplitude, controller230 compares the slopes of the two current measurements—(ΔI₁/TP1) to(ΔI₂/TP2), where TP1 and TP2 are widths of voltages pulses applied topresent sector and the previous and/or next sector respectively—todetermine whether the sector has moved from the present sector.

In an embodiment, the frequency at which test pulses are applied mayvary depending of the rotational speed of the motor. For example, atoutput speeds of below 1000 RPM, controller 230 may apply test pulses ata 667 Hz frequency (i.e., every 1.5 ms), and at output speeds of over1000 RPM, controller 230 may apply test pulses at 1250 Hz frequency(i.e., every 800 us).

In an embodiment, controller 230 may further normalize the currentcurves to compensate for variations in the DC bus voltage, as discussedhere. As shown in FIG. 14 , the DC bus voltage may fluctuate due to, forexample, voltage ripples in an AC power source or high impedance of abattery pack. These variations in the DC bus voltage affect the amountof voltage supplied to the motor via the test pulses and thus compromisethe effectiveness of directly comparing the associated currentmeasurements. To overcome this issue, in an embodiment, controller 230measures the DC bus voltage at the time the test pulses are injected tothe present sector (V_(dc1)) and the adjacent (i.e., previous or next)sector (V_(dc2)). Controller 230 then normalizes the currentmeasurements ΔI₁ and ΔI₂ according to the DC bus voltage and compares(ΔI₁×V_(dc1)) and (ΔI₂×V_(dc2)) to determine whether and when tocommutate the adjacent sector.

Referring now to FIG. 16 , a flow diagram executed by the controller 230for Low-Speed Motor Commutation (LSMC) is described, according to anembodiment. In an embodiment, to execute LSMC at step 306, controller230 commutates the present sector at a given PWM duty cycle for apredetermined number of cycles at step 320. At step 322, controller 230provisionally pauses commutation of the present sector and insert a testpulse in the present sector. At step 324, controller 230 determines ifthe sector is past its halfway point. Controller 230 may do so bysetting a flag once it detects a zero-crossing of the open-phasevoltage. If it is past the halfway point, at step 326, controller 230inserts a test pulse in the next sector, as determined by the table ofFIG. 13 . Controller 230 measures current signals associated with thepresent sector test pulse and the next sector test pulse at step 328. Atstep 330, controller 230 determines whether the present sector pulsecurrent slope>next sector pulse current slope, and if so, it moves tothe next sector (i.e., sets next sector as the present sector) at step332. Controller 230 then repeats this process beginning at step 320.

If controller 230 determines at step 324 that the present sector is notpast its halfway point, it proceeds to insert a test pulse in theprevious sector as determined by the table of FIG. 13 at step 334.Controller 230 measures current signals associated with the presentsector test pulse and the previous sector test pulse at step 336. Atstep 338, controller 230 determines whether the present sector pulsecurrent slope>previous sector pulse current slope, and if so, it movesto the previous sector (i.e., sets previous sector as the presentsector) at step 340 in order to correct the commutation sequence and getthe rotor rotating in the correct direction. Controller 230 then repeatsthis process beginning at step 320.

Zero-Cross Detection of Motor Back-EMF

As previously discussed, at speeds higher than the transitory threshold(for example at above 2,000 rpm for some power tools) discussed above,the motor back-EMF can be reliably used by controller 230 to detect therotor position. Controller 230 does this by detecting the zero-crossingof the open-phase voltage within each sector and commutating the nextsector accordingly.

One way for the controller to determine the zero-cross is tocontinuously sample and monitor the open phase voltage. However, suchcontinuous sampling takes a lot of processing power.

An improved technique for detecting the zero-crossing is describedherein with reference to FIGS. 17-19 , according to an embodiment.

In an embodiment, controller 230 conducts sampling of the open phasevoltage periodically at a rate of one sample per PWM duty cycle. FIG. 17depicts an exemplary waveform diagram depicting the sampling of the openphase voltage, which in this example is the V-phase during sector 2. Asthe V-phase voltage begins to rise, controller 230 samples the V-phasevoltage once for every PWM duty cycle applied to the U phase. Oncecontroller 230 detects that the sampled V-phase voltage is greater thanor equal to the DC bus zero-cross (i.e., halfway point of the DC busvoltage, which is approximately equal to half the power supply voltage),it determines that an open-phase zero-cross has occurred. Controller 230uses the open-phase zero-cross detection to commutate the adjacent cycle(e.g., in these examples, with a 30-degree phase shift).

Sampling at the rate explained above is suitable for relatively lowspeeds, e.g., between 2000 RPM to 18000 RPM in some power tools. In thegiven example, the sampling of the V-phase open voltage once it exceedsthe DC bus zero-cross occurs a short time after the actual zero-cross,giving the controller 230 ample time to prepare for commutating the nextsector (sector 3) before the rotor moved to the next sector. However,sampling the open phase voltage at the rate of once per PWM duty cycleat higher speed levels may result in delayed and inaccurate detection ofa zero-crossing event. For example, as shown in FIG. 18 , sampling theV-phase open voltage at the rate of once per PWM duty cycle results indetection of the V-phase zero-cross event after the rotor has alreadymoved to the next sector (sector 3), causing the controller 230commutation control to lag behind the actual rotor position.

In order to avoid this issue, according to an embodiment of theinvention, as shown in FIG. 19 , at relatively high rotor speed (e.g.,above 18,000 RPM in some power tool applications), controller 230 isconfigured to sample the open-phase voltage twicer per PWM duty cycle.The controller identifies a mid-way point of the PWM duty cycle, takes afirst sample of the open circuit voltage prior to (e.g., 5 μs before)the midpoint of PWM duty cycle, and a second sample after (e.g., 5 μsafter) the midpoint of PWM. In an embodiment, using these samplingpoints, controller 230 constructs a profile of the open-phase voltageand predicts based on the difference between the two voltage samples(ΔV_(bemf)) and the difference between the first sample and the DC busvoltage zero-cross point (ΔV_(half_bus)), and uses the profile topredict the timing of the open-phase voltage zero-crossing. In anembodiment, this determination may be made as:Predicted commutation time=(Δt*ΔV _(half_bus))/ΔV _(bemf)

FIG. 20 depicts an exemplary flow diagram executed by the controller 230for detecting the zero-crossing of the open-phase voltage at differentmotor speed ranges during execution of commutation using motor back-EMF,according to an embodiment. In an embodiment, in the process ofcommutation using back-EMF 308 (see FIG. 9 ), controller 230 proceeds todetermine rotor rotational speed at step 350 and compare the rotor speedto a first threshold (in this example, 8,000 RPM) at step 352. If rotorspeed is less than the first threshold, at step 354, controller 230samples the open-phase voltage once per PWM duty cycle, at 1.5 us beforethe falling edge of the PWM cycle applied to the active phase. Thissampling point is effective due to the small duty of the PWM cycleswithin this speed range. If the first voltage sample indicates that(sampled open circuit voltage−half_bus) has a different polarity ascompared to the previous sample, the controller immediately determinesthat the rotor has moved to a new a new sector and begins to commutatethe next sector.

If rotor speed is greater than or equal to the first threshold, at step356, controller 230 determines whether the speed is less than a secondthreshold (in this example, 18,000 RPM). If rotor speed is less than thesecond threshold, controller may designate the sampling time of theopen-voltage based on the PWM duty cycle, i.e., whether the PWM dutycycle is below a threshold (in this example, 26%) at step 358. If PWMduty cycle is below the threshold, the open-phase voltage is sampled 1.5μs before the falling edge of the PWM duty cycle at step 362. Otherwise,the open-phase voltage is sampled 5 μs after the midway point of the PWMduty cycle at step 360.

If rotor speed is greater than or equal to the second threshold, at step364, controller 230 samples the open-phase voltage 5 μs before and afterthe PWM midway point. At step 366, controller 230 determines whether thesecond sample is above the DC bus zero-crossing, and if so, at step 368,it determines that the rotor has already rotated to the next sector andbegins to commutate the next sector. Otherwise, at step 370, i.e., ifboth samples are below the half_bus, a linear extrapolation method isused to predict when the open phase voltage will exceed the half_bus, asshown in FIG. 19 . If it is determined that the open phase voltage willexceed the half_bus prior to the next PWM duty cycle, the controllersets up a corresponding time delay and begins commutating the nextsector at the end of that time delay, i.e., prior to the next PWM dutycycle.

Sensorless Control with Variable Conduction Band and/or Advance Angle

Another aspect of the invention is described herein with reference toFIGS. 21-32 .

FIG. 21 depicts a waveform diagram of the control sequence of thethree-phase inventor bridge discussed above operating at 100% PWM dutycycle, according to an embodiment. In this figure, each of the threehigh-side FETs are active at a 120° conduction bands (abbreviated as“CB” herein). In other words, the full rotational range of the motor isdivided by the number of phases of the motor (i.e., 120 degrees) toobtain the conduction band for each phase, and the phases of the motorare activated in sequence at that conduction band.

In BLDC systems, due to inefficiencies associated with the powerswitches and the inductance of the motor itself, the current waveformlags behind the back-EMF voltage waveform of the motor. As a result,when driving the motor as shown in FIG. 21 , the BLDC motor does notproduce the maximum torque that it is capable of. The ratio of theactual power absorbed by the load to the apparent power flowing in thecircuit, referred to as power factor, is low when the current andvoltage waveforms are not in synch. To overcome this issue, in most BLDCmotors, the conduction bands of the power switches are shifted by anadvance angle of, for example 30°, to maximize the power factor and theamount of torque that the motor is capable of producing. FIG. 22 depictsthe waveform diagram of the control sequence of FIG. 21 , shown with anadvance angle (AA) of 30°, according to an embodiment.

It has further been found that increasing the conduction band of thebrushless motor phases to a value greater than the baseline 120°conduction band results in increased output power and increased speedfor a given torque amount. To increase the conduction band, thecenterline of each conduction band is maintained, and the leading andtrailing edges of the conduction band are equally increased. FIG. 23depicts a waveform diagram of the control sequence of the three-phaseinventor bridge discussed above with a conduction band of 150°,according to an embodiment of the invention, where the leading andtrailing edges of each conduction band are shifted by 15 degrees each ascompared to FIG. 21 .

It has further been found that increasing both the conduction band andthe advance angle in tandem increases power output and system efficiencyeven more. For example, where the conduction band is 150 degrees, themotor efficiency increases by setting the advance angle to 45 degreesrather than the conventional 30 degrees. FIG. 24 depicts an embodimentof the invention where the advance angle of each phase of the brushlessmotor is varied depending on the conduction band. In the illustrativeexample, where the conduction band is at 150°, the advance angle is setto 45°. In an embodiment, various conduction band/advance angle (CB/AA)correlations may be programmed in the control unit 106 as a look-uptable or an equation defining the relationship. The controller may setthe CB/AA value based on the desired output speed or output power anddrive the motor accordingly.

Increasing CB/AA beyond the baseline 120/30-degree level may providemany advantages to extending the power and speed range of the powertool. Reference is made by way of example to US Patent Publication Nos.2018/0076652 and 2017/0366117, both of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entireties. These publications disclose power toolwhere variable CB/AA is utilized for closed-loop speed control toincrease power to the motor as load increases; to operate the motor at ahigh operating range even when powered by a power supply havingrelatively low voltage; and to extend the operating range of the triggerswitch.

In BLDC motors having Hall sensors, implementation of variableconduction band and/or advance angle control is conducted in relation tothe position signals from the Hall sensors. The controller relies onposition signals to identify what sector the rotor is located in and canadvance the commutation angle relative to the centerline of the Hallsensor signals. Alternatively and/or additionally, the Hall sensors maybe positioned offset relative to the sectors (for example by 30 degrees)such that the position signals already include a mechanical advanceangle. The controller may also expand the conduction band by shiftingthe leading and trailing edges relative to the baseline commutationconduction band of 120 degrees.

According to an embodiment, in BLDC motors using a sensorless controlscheme, controller 230 controls implementation of variable conductionband and/or advance angle relative to the beginning, zero-crossing, oran end of the open phase voltage signal within each sector, as describedherein in detail.

FIG. 25 depicts an exemplary waveform diagram showing the motor voltagesignals PU, PV, and PW within a full 360 degree of motor rotation. Thecommutation drive sectors and open-phase sectors of the V phase only arelabeled in this figure. In this figure, the controller 230 does notapply an advance angle or vary the conduction band from the baselinevalue (i.e., CB/AA=120/0 degrees). Thus, commutation rising edge of anext cycle takes place after the open-phase voltage has reached the busvoltage. For example, in transitioning from sector 2 to sector 3 of theV phase, controller 230 continues to sample the PV open-phase voltagewithin sector 2 as it ramps up until it reaches the bus voltage.Commutation rising edge 280 of the V phase thus takes place at 120degrees. This ensures that commutation of sector 3 is in-line with theactual position of the rotor in sector 3. Similarly, the commutationtrailing edge 282 of the V phase takes place when the PW open-phasevoltage within sector 4 reaches the bus voltage, i.e., at 240 degrees.

Alternatively, controller 230 detects a zero-cross of the open phase andcalculates, based on motor speed and/or by interpolating the open-phasevoltage waveform, the commutation leading and trailing edges relative tothe zero-cross of the open phase. For example, in transitioning fromsector 2 to sector 3 of the V phase, controller 230 may detect thezero-cross of the PV open-phase voltage within sector 2 as it ramps upand sets the commutation leading edge 280 of sector 3 at 30 degreesthereafter.

In an embodiment, after each phase commutation cycle, a voltage pulse284 is often detected immediately after the end of the commutationcycle, i.e., at the beginning of the open cycle of that phase, as shownin FIG. 25 . This voltage pulse 284 is associated with a change in phaseinductive current through the phase windings. Specifically, this voltagepulse results from a combination of three voltages: 1) the voltagedeveloped in the stator windings between the open-phase and thepreceding active-phase (e.g., U phase and W phase) terminals due to thedecaying current on the open-phase, 2) the back-EMF voltage developed inthe same windings as they interact with corresponding rotor magnets, and3) the back-EMF voltage developed in the windings between the open-phaseand the ensuing active phase (e.g., U phase and W phase) as theyinteract with the other rotor magnets. The voltage pulse period 284 endswhen the current on the open-phase fully decays. The voltage pulse isnearly undetectable or has a very small magnitude at no load, and themagnitude of the voltage pulse increases as the load (and thus thecurrent through the motor) increases.

FIG. 26 depicts an exemplary waveform diagram similar to FIG. 25 , butwith a 30-degree advance angle (CB/AA=120/30). In this figure, ratherthan starting motor commutation of the next sector at the end of theopen-phase cycle of the present sector, controller 230 beginscommutating the next sector once it detects the zero-crossing of theopen phase signal within the present sector. In other words, the30-degree advance angle aligns the commutation of the next sector withthe zero-cross of the open-phase voltage of the present sector. In anembodiment, controller 230 detects zero-cross of the open-phase voltageduring any of the methods previously described, e.g., by sampling theopen-phase voltage until it reaches ½ of the bus voltage value or ½ thepower supply voltage. Once the zero-cross of the open-phase voltage isreached during the present sector, controller 230 sets the commutationleading edge 280 of the next sector, which cuts off the upward slope ofthe open-phase voltage. This is shown, for example, at 90 degrees forthe PV phase signal, where the PV phase signal transitions instantlyfrom an upward-sloping open-phase voltage signal to a drive voltagesignal. PV is driven at a 120-degree conduction band, i.e., untilcontroller 230 stops driving PV at 210 degrees, at which points the Vphase becomes a floating open phase again. The commutation trailing edge282 is set when the PW open-phase voltage reaches ½ of the bus voltagevalue or ½ the power supply voltage, i.e., at or approximately close tothe leading edge of the W phase commutation.

At the beginning of the open phase beginning at 210 degrees, PV phasesignal exhibits a voltage pulse 284 followed by a period 286 where itsvoltage is high. The duration of the voltage pulses 284 and period 286are merely exemplary in this figure and may vary depending on the motortorque and power requirements. This voltage pulse 284 and the ensuingperiod 286 result from interaction of induced voltages between variousstator windings described above. After the period 286, which in thisexample is at 240 degrees, the back-EMF voltage on the PV open-phasesignal begins to fall. In an embodiment, controller 230 samples the PVopen-phase voltage periodically to detect its zero-crossing. Asdiscussed above, the zero-crossing is detected when the PV open-phasevoltage becomes equal to or less than 50% of the bus voltage. This pointcorresponds to 270 degrees of rotor rotation. At this point thecontroller 230 begins commutating the next sector with a 30-degreeadvance angle, causing the PV phase signal to instantly transition fromthe downward-sloping open-phase voltage to zero.

The above embodiment discloses controlling motor commutationsensorlessly using the motor back-EMF voltage signals at a 30-degreeadvance angle. In an embodiment, controller 230 can implement variableadvance angle of less than or greater than 30 degrees by varying thecommutation of the following cycle relative to the open-phase voltage,as described below with reference to FIGS. 27 and 28 . In each example,controller 230 sets the commutation leading edge as V_bus*a, where V_busdenotes the voltage of the DC bus line or the voltage of the powersupply, and a is in the range of 0 to 1 and is calculated based on thedesired advance angle and/or conduction band.

FIG. 27 depicts an exemplary waveform diagram similar to FIGS. 25 and 26, but with an advance angle of between 0 to 30 degrees, in this example15-degrees (i.e., CB/AA=120/15), according to an embodiment. In anembodiment, to control the motor with an advance angle of x degreeswhere 0<x<30, the controller 230 transitions the open phase to activedrive at (30−x) degrees after the zero-crossing. This is accomplished bysetting the commutation rising edge 280 to V_bus*0.75. In the example ofFIG. 27 , the transition is made at 15 degrees after the zero-crossing,which results in a 15-degree advance angle relative to the beginning ofthe next sector.

FIG. 28 depicts an exemplary waveform diagram similar to FIGS. 25 and 26, but with an advance angle of between 0 to 60 degrees, in this example45-degrees (i.e., CB/AA=120/45), according to an embodiment. To controlthe motor commutation with an advance angle of x degrees where 0<x<60,the controller 230 transitions the open phase to active drive at (60−x)degrees after the beginning of the present sector, i.e., after thebeginning of the upward-sloping or downward-sloping open phase voltage.This is accomplished by setting the commutation rising edge 280 toV_bus*0.25. In the example of FIG. 28 , the transition is made at 15degrees after the beginning of the present sector, which results in a45-degree advance angle relative to the beginning of the next sector.

FIG. 29 depicts an exemplary waveform diagram similar to FIGS. 25 and 26, but with an increased conduction band of 150-degrees. In anembodiment, controller 230 expands the leading and trailing edges ofeach conduction band by an additional 15 degrees for a total of150-degree conduction. Expanding the leading and trailing edges equallyallows for maintaining the advance angle at 30 degrees despite the shiftin the leading edge (i.e., CB/AA=150/30). In other words, while theleading and trailing edges of each conduction band are shifted incomparison to FIG. 26 , the centerline of each conduction band remainsthe same, thus maintaining the same advance angle.

In an embodiment, to control motor commutation with expanded conductionband, controller 230 calculates the leading edge as a function of theopen phase voltage relative to the bus voltage. For example, in FIG. 29, the commutation leading edge 280 of the V phase is set when the PVopen-phase voltage is equal to or greater than V_bus*0.25, whichcorresponds to the 75 degree position within sector 2.

In an embodiment, controller 230 calculates the trailing edge as afunction of the leading edge of the next phase commutation+b, whereb=CB−120. For example, in FIG. 29 , the leading edge 288 of the W phasecommutation cycle is at 195 degrees, so the trailing edge 282 of the Vphase is enforced at 195+(150−120)=225 degrees of rotation. Controller230 may use a counter that is based on the rotational speed of the motorto apply the trailing edge of the V phase b degrees after the leadingedge of the W phase.

In an alternative embodiment, controller 230 may calculate the trailingedge as a function of an extrapolation of the open phase voltagerelative to the bus voltage. For example, in FIG. 29 , the commutationtrailing edge 282 of the V phase is set when an extrapolation of PWopen-phase voltage is equal to or greater than V_bus*0.75, whichcorresponds to 225 degrees of rotation.

In an embodiment, controller 230 may set variable conduction band and/oradvance angle as a function of an instantaneous measure of theopen-phase voltage relative to its maximum values (i.e., bus voltage orpower source voltage). Controller 230 may adjust the commutation leadingedge as a function of V_bus*a, where a becomes smaller as a combinationof conduction band and advance angle requires shifting the leading edge280 closer to the beginning of the open phase. In an embodiment, theconduction band and advance angle may be expanded as long as thesampling frequency of the open-phase voltage enables the controller 230to detect a slope on the open-phase voltage waveform before theopen-phase voltage reaches V_bus*a. The value a may be calculated as amathematical function of conduction band and/or advance angle, or usinga look-up table as exemplified in Table 1 below.

TABLE 1 a CB AA 1 120 0 0.75 120 15 0.5 120 30 0.25 120 45 0.25 150 300.125 150 37.5 0.125 165 30

In an embodiment, variable conduction band and/or advance angle may beused to increase power to the motor. One such application is closed-loopspeed control, where the motor conduction band and/or advance angle isvaried as the loan on the motor increases in order to minimize thedifferential between the actual output speed and a target speed of themotor (e.g., as set by a trigger switch or speed dial in variable-speedpower tools).

FIG. 30 depicts an exemplary flow diagram for process 420 executed bycontroller 230 to apply variable conduction band and/or advance angle insensorless trapezoidal motor control of a multi-phase motor, accordingto an embodiment. In an embodiment, starting at 422, controller 230calculates motor output speed using the methods disclosed above at 424.In an embodiment, controller 230 calculates a different (delta) betweenthe calculated motor speed and a target motor speed at 426. In anembodiment, controller 230 sets a conduction band/advance angle (CB/AA)value based on the calculated delta at 428. The CB/AA may be set to avalue greater than a baseline value of 120/30 degrees in order to supplymore power to the motor, thus increasing the rotational speed of themotor to match the target speed. In an embodiment, controller 230calculates values a and b as functions of the set CB/AA at 430. Value a,as described above, denotes a fraction of the open-phase voltage and isin the range of 0 to 1, preferably greater than or equal to ⅛, morepreferably greater than or equal to 1/16, and even more preferablygreater than or equal to 1/32. The value b, as described above, is equalto CB−120.

In an embodiment, controller 230 monitors the open-phase voltage at 432and compares the instantaneous measure of open-phase voltage to v_bus*aat 434. If the open-phase voltage is greater than or equal to v_bus*a,controller 230 sets the commutation leading edge to begin commutating at436. Controller 230 begins to monitor the next open-phase voltage at438. Controller 230 sets the trailing edge of the commutation cyclewithin b degrees of the leading edge of the next phase commutation cycleat 440. The b degree period is enforced using a counter that operates asa function of the motor output speed at 442. The process continues at424.

FIG. 31 depicts an exemplary waveform diagram showing the motor voltagesignals exhibiting a conduction band/advance angle of 120/60 degrees,where high current yields an additional 30 degree of advancing,according to an embodiment. In this embodiment, controller 230 drivesthe motor at a CB/AA of 120/30 degrees. As explained above, due tohigher currents in the stator windings at higher load, the current inthe open phase takes longer to fully decay, resulting in greater time ofthe voltage pulses in comparison to FIG. 26 . It was found that by theinventors of this applications that in some power tools, under heavyload, a combination of larger voltage pulses and other motorcharacteristics lead to an additional advance angle of up to 30 degrees.This can be seen in FIG. 31 , where the open-phase voltage waveformsexhibit a 30-degree shift in comparison to FIG. 26 . Thus, even thoughcontroller 230 intends to drive the motor at CB/AA of 120/30 degrees,motor is inadvertently driven at CB/AA of 120/60 degrees at high load.

If controller 230 intends to drive the motor at CB/AA of over 120/30degrees, for example at 150/45, the effective advance angle on the motorwill be 75 degrees. This means the controller 230 begins commuting, forexample, sector 3 while the rotor is still physically in sector 1. In anembodiment, advance angle of more than 60 degrees is not practical. Whatis needed is a scheme to increase the conduction band, particularly athigh load where it is desirable to increase power input into the motor,while avoiding the associated increase in advance angle beyond 60degrees.

Accordingly, in an embodiment of the invention, in order to avoidadvancing the rotor by more than 60 degrees under heavy load, controller230 is configured to increase the conduction band by maintaining theleading edge of the conduction band and shifting only the trailing edgeof the conduction band to increase the conduction band from 120 degrees.

FIG. 32 depicts an exemplary waveform diagram similar to FIG. 31 , butwith the trailing edge of the conduction band shifted by 20 degrees toachieve a conduction band of 140 degrees, in an embodiment. In thisembodiment, a total CB/AA of 140/50 degrees is exhibited. As shown, theleading edge 280 (e.g., 60 degrees for the V phase) remains unchanged inFIGS. 31 and 32 , but the trailing edge 282 is shifted by 20 degrees(e.g., from 180 degrees in FIG. 31 to 200 degrees in FIG. 32 ). Thetrailing edge 282 is succeeded by an open-phase period including widervoltage pulse, followed by a shortened voltage slope that begins at alower magnitude than the drive voltage signal and ends at the point ofzero-cross detection. This configuration ensures that the leading edgeis not advanced more than 60 degrees in spite of the motor's inherentadded angle advancing of up to 30 degrees under high load.

Secondary Controller for Sensorless Detection of Speed and/or Direction

As described above with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 , in an embodiment ofthe invention, a secondary controller 250 is provided in addition tocontroller 230. Secondary controller 250 senses speed and/or directionof the motor and acts as a secondary safety check to protect the tooland the user against inadvertent high motor speed and incorrectdirection of rotation. The secondary controller 250 is described here indetail.

In an embodiment, as described above, secondary controller 250 may be amicroprocessor or microcontroller chip, for example an 8-bitmicro-controller (such as a PIC10F200 Microchip®) that is smaller andless expensive than controller 230. Controller 230 and secondarycontroller 250 may be mounted on the same circuit board or separatecircuit boards disposed in different parts of the power tool 10.

With continued reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 , in an embodiment, likecontroller 230, secondary controller receives a low-voltage supply ofpower from the power supply regulator 234. It also receives threevoltage signals corresponding to phases of the motor 16 from the LPF242. However, unlike controller 230, secondary controller 250, secondarycontroller 250 does not control motor commutation or other power toolcontrol functions. Rather, in an embodiment, secondary controller 250 ismerely programmed to determine the speed and rotational direction of themotor 16 based on the voltage signals from the LPF 242, and to shut downpower to the motor 16 in the event it detects an overspeed condition orincorrect rotation of the motor 16. In an embodiment, secondarycontroller 250 is provided with a pre-set upper speed threshold which,when exceeded, causes the secondary controller 250 to take correctiveaction to shut off power to the motor 16. Alternatively, secondarycontroller 250 may receive a speed signal from a speed dial or triggerswitch of the power tool 10, sets a target speed according to the speedsignal, and takes corrective action to shut off power to the motor 16when the speed of the motor exceeds the target speed. In an embodiment,secondary controller 250 shuts off power to the motor 16 by activating adisable signal that disables the gate driver 232. Secondary controller250 ensures, that in the event of electrical or software failure by thecontroller 230, the motor 16 does not continue operating at high speedor incorrect direction.

In an embodiment, secondary controller 250 is programmed to determinewhich of the three voltage signals is the open-phase voltage based onthe shape of the three voltage signals. A phase signal that is inpulse-width modulation is being actively driven by the controller 230,whereas a phase signal that is sloped is the open-phase signal carryingthe motor back-EMF. Secondary controller 250 in this manner monitors themotor back-EMF and, based on the frequency of the back-EMFzero-crossings, and the sequence of the open phases, it determines thespeed and direction of rotation of the motor 16. Secondary controller250 may also monitor the zero-crossing on only one of the three signalsto determine the speed of the motor, and on two of the signals todetermine its direction of rotation.

In an embodiment, instead of detecting the zero-crossings of the voltagewaveforms, the secondary controller may detect other characteristics ofthe voltage signals as they transition from high to low or low to high.this manner, secondary controller 250 protects the power tool 10 fromsystem failure without commutating the motor 16 or even receiving themotor commutation signals.

FIG. 33 depict an exemplary circuit block diagram of power tool 10 thatsimilar in many aspects to FIG. 5 above, except that secondarycontroller 250 does not detect motor speed or direction of rotationbased on back-EMF signals. Rather, in this embodiment, secondarycontroller 250 receives at least two (or more) of the motor drivesignals (i.e., controller 230 output signals or gate driver 232 outputsignals) and determines motor speed and rotation direction based on thefrequency and sequence of said signals. It is noted that at least twodrive signals are needed to determine the direction of rotation of themotor, though motor speed alone can be calculated based on a singledrive signal.

In an exemplary embodiment as shown in FIG. 33 , secondary controller250 receives two gate driver signals UL and VL, which as shown in FIG. 6are the gate drive inputs to low-side power switches S1 b and S2 b.Since the high-side gate drivers are used for PWM control, the low-sidegate drivers are better suited for monitoring the transition pointsbetween adjacent sectors.

In an embodiment, one of the two gate driver signals UL or VL is usedfor monitoring the speed. For example, secondary controller 250 may beprogrammed to monitor the rising edge of the UL signal and determine themotor speed based on the frequency of the monitored rising edges.

The technique described above is most suitable when the low-side gatedriver signals are not subject to PWM control. However, when usingsynchronous rectification (as described later in detail) or other defacto PWM control on the low-side gate drivers, secondary controller 250may be unable to detect the correct leading edge of the gate drivesignals uniformly from one electrical period to the next as a result ofhigh frequency of the PWM signals. This affects the reliability of speedand/or direction determination by the secondary controller 250. Thus, inan embodiment, secondary controller 250 uses a filtering and processingtechnique to enhance its ability to detect accurate speed and directionand rotation, as described here. In this technique, secondary controller250 receives all three high-side gate driver signals, or all threelow-side gate driver signals, outputted from the gate driver 232.

FIG. 34 depicts a waveform diagram of gate driver signals UL, VL and WLdriven with PWM control, according to an embodiment. In an embodiment,these voltage signals are divided down through a voltage divider (notshown) to obtain voltage levels compatible with the secondary controller250. Further, an analog low-pass filter (not shown) similar to LPF 242is used remove significant portions of high frequencies from the gatedrive signals UL, VL and WL. FIG. 35 depicts a waveform diagram showingthe analog-filtered signals UL, VL and WL. Secondary controller 250further processes these signals by subtracting the drive signals fromone another, e.g., UL−VL, and VL−WL, to obtain two analog waveforms.This is shown in FIG. 36 by way of example. In an embodiment, any twoindependent subtractions of U, V, and W, will suffice for thisimplementation.

Subtracting the successive drive signals from one another isparticularly beneficial in sensorless control schemes such asfield-oriented control (FOC). In such schemes, for improved operation ofa three-phase brushless motor, a technique called field weakening isoften employed. Field weakening is accomplished by introducing a smallquantity of a third harmonic of the fundamental frequency into thefundamental drive signal. The third harmonic has a frequency three timesthe frequency of the fundamental frequency. Each phase receives the sameamount of third harmonic injection. Because each phase is separated by120 degrees, or one-third, of the period of the fundamental frequency,and because the third harmonic has a period of one-third of the periodof the fundamental frequency, subtracting two phases has the effect ofexactly cancelling out the injected third harmonic, thus rendering theresultant a more pure fundamental sinewave. If there is no thirdharmonic injection, the subtraction scheme described above still actsthe construct two resultant waveforms from the three drive signals.

In an embodiment, secondary controller 250 further processes the tworesultant waveforms with additional digital filtering to improve thesinusoidal quality of the analog waveforms, as shown in FIG. 37 by wayof example. In an embodiment, secondary controller 250 uses thesesinusoidal waveforms to determine the speed and direction of rotation ofthe motor 16. In an embodiment, secondary controller 250 may calculatespeed by examining a frequency of upward-sloping zero-crossing of theone of the waveform signals. Similarly, secondary controller 250 maycalculate direction of rotation by examining the sequence ofupward-sloping zero-crossings of the two waveform signals. The resultantsinusoidal waveforms provide the secondary controller 250 with reliablemeans to detect speed and rotation of direction as compared tounprocessed gate drive signals.

While examples provided herein depict and describe sensorless brushlessmotor control systems, it should be understood that the embodimentsexecuted by secondary controller 250 described here may also be employedin a system where controller 250 detects rotor position uses positionsensors (e.g., Hall sensors). In other words, while secondary controller250 of this disclosure detects speed and rotation direction of the motor16 without positional sensors, controller 230 may execute either asensor or sensorless control execution.

FIG. 38 depicts an exemplary flow diagram for process 380 executed bysecondary controller 250 to determine motor speed. In an embodiment, inprocess 380, starting with 382, secondary controller 250 detectsmonitors the UL signal to detect the rising edge within each rotation ofthe motor at 384. Secondary controller 250 calculates the speed of themotor based on the frequency of the rising edge of the UL signal at 386.The shorter the time between consecutive rising edges of the UL signal,the faster the speed of rotation. Secondary controller 250 compares thecalculated speed to a speed threshold at 388. Each time secondarycontroller 250 determines that an overspeed has taken place, itincrements an overspeed counter at 390 (overspeed counter is set to 0 atstart point 382). If an overspeed event is not detected at 388, theoverspeed counter is decremented until it reaches 0. This is done toensure that a certain number of overspeed events are detected beforecorrective action is initiated by secondary controller. After theoverspeed counter is incremented at 390, the overspeed counter iscompared to a counter threshold at 394. If the overspeed counter isgreater than the counter threshold, secondary controller 250 determinesthat an overspeed condition has occurred continuously over at leastseveral rotations of the motor and initiates corrective action at 396.The process ends at 398.

In an embodiment, corrective action by the secondary controller 250 maybe to disable the gate driver 232, disable the controller 230, disablethe power supply regulator 234, or disable supply of power to the motorby shutting off a switch (not shown) along the current path.Alternatively, corrective action may entail braking the motor as will bedescribed later in detail.

In an embodiment, both gate driver signals are used for determining thedirection of rotation of the rotor. For example, secondary controller250 may be programmed to monitor the rising edges of the UL and VLsignals and determine the direction of rotation of the rotor based onthe sequence of the monitored rising edges.

FIG. 39 depicts an exemplary flow diagram for process 400 executed bysecondary controller 250 to determine whether the rotor is rotating inan incorrect direction. In an embodiment, in process 400, starting with402, secondary controller 250 detects monitors the rising and fallingedges of the UL and VL signals within each rotation of the motor at 404.If the rising edge of UL is detected before the rising edge of VL (step406); the falling edge of UL is detected approximately simultaneouslywith the rising edge of VL (step 408); and the falling edge of UL isdetected before the falling edge of VL (step 410), the secondarycontroller 250 proceeds as normal to the next cycle at 412 and repeatsthis process at 404. Otherwise, the secondary controller 250 determinesthat the rotor is rotating in an incorrect direction and takescorrective action at 414. Once again, corrective action may be disablingone of the circuit components, shutting off supply of power to themotor, or braking the motor. The process ends at 416.

In an embodiment, similarly to overspeed detection, secondary controller250 may implement a counter used to ensure that a reverse rotation eventhas occurred for several cycles before it takes corrective action at414. The counter may be incremented every time a reverse rotation eventis detected and decremented every time a reverse rotation even is notdetected. Corrective action is taken only if the counter passes acounter threshold.

As previously described, motor commutation may be controlled with aconduction band different from the baseline value of 120° to controlpower output and speed for a given torque amount. Controlling motorcommutation with a conduction band of 120° ensures that within eachsector, the rising edge of one phase and the falling edge of anotherphase are significantly inline. However, when controller 230 executescontrol motor commutation with a variable conduction band, the risingedge of the next sector does not align with the falling edge of thepresent sector. To take this into account, according to an embodiment,secondary controller 250 adopts an alternative process 500 for detectingincorrect rotor direction, as described here.

FIG. 40 depicts an exemplary flow diagram for process 500 executed bysecondary controller 250 to determine whether the rotor is rotating inan incorrect direction, when controller 230 executes control motorcommutation with a variable conduction band, according to an embodiment.In an embodiment, in process 500, starting with 502, secondarycontroller 250 detects monitors the rising and falling edges of the ULand VL signals within each rotation of the motor at 504. If the risingedge of UL is detected before the rising edge of VL (step 506); therising edge of VL is detected before the falling edge of UL (step 508);and the falling edge of UL is detected before the falling edge of VL(step 510), the secondary controller 250 proceeds as normal to the nextcycle at 512 and repeats this process at 504. Otherwise, the secondarycontroller 250 determines that the rotor is rotating in an incorrectdirection and takes corrective action at 514. Once again, correctiveaction may be disabling one of the circuit components, shutting offsupply of power to the motor, or braking the motor.

An alternative embodiment of the invention is described herein withreference to FIGS. 41 and 42 , where motor commutation is controlledusing synchronous rectification.

FIG. 41 depicts an exemplary waveform diagram of a pulse-widthmodulation (PWM) drive sequence using synchronous rectification (alsoreferred to as active freewheeling) within a full 360-degree conductioncycle, according to an embodiment. In an embodiment, controller 230controls power switch circuit 226 to supply trapezoidal voltagewaveforms to each phase of the motor 16 by applying pulse-widthmodulated (PWM) drive signals UH, VH and WH to the high-side powerswitches. In non-synchronous rectification, the flyback diodes (see FIG.6 ) are disposed in parallel to the low-side power switches S1 b-S3 b toeliminate flyback voltage spikes. Each flyback diode has an internalresistance, which generates a considerable amount of heat. Synchronousrectification reduces the amount of heat generated by each flyback diodeby providing an alternative (parallel) current path for freewheeling(flyback) current. Specifically, in synchronous rectification, thelow-side power switch corresponding to the actively-driven high-sidepower switch is also driven using a PWM signal that is mirror oppositeto the high-side PWM drive signal. For example, in sectors 1 and 2,controller 230 applies a PWM drive signal to UL that is the mirroropposite of the PWM drive signal that it applies to UH.

As described above with reference to FIGS. 38-40 , secondary controller250 relies on edge transition detection of low-side drive signals VL andUL to detect speed and direction of rotation of the motor. When usingsynchronous rectification, however, the PWM drive signal exhibitsnumerous edge transitions within each full rotation of the rotor thatshould not be relied on for speed and direction measurement.

To overcome this problem, according to an embodiment, secondarycontroller 250 is configured to compare the detected rising edges of thelow-side drive signals VL and UL to their subsequent falling edges andignore the detected edges if the elapsed time between the rising andfalling edges is too small. Since PWM drive signals have very shortpulses, a rising edge that is followed too closely by a falling edge isdeemed to be part of an active freewheeling PWM drive signal rather thana commutation signal.

FIG. 42 depicts an exemplary flow diagram 600 for process executed bythe secondary controller 250 for proper detection of commutation signalrising and falling edges commutation used for speed and rotationdetection when controlling motor commutation with active freewheeling,according to an embodiment. In other words process 600 is executed bysecondary controller 250 in steps 404 and 504 of flow diagrams 400 (FIG.39 ) and 500 (FIG. 40 ) respectively to determine whether detectedrising and falling edges are part of a commutation signal that can berelied on for speed and rotation detection, or are part of an activefreewheeling PWM drive signal, according to an embodiment. In anembodiment, in process 600, starting with 602, secondary controller 250detects monitors a rising edge of either a UL or VL signal within eachrotation of the motor at 604. Next, secondary controller 250 waits todetect a subsequent falling edge of the same signal UL or VL at 606.Secondary controller 250 measures the time between the detected risingand falling edges. If the time lapse between the rising and fallingedges is greater than a time threshold at 608, secondary controller 250determines that the detected rising and falling edges are thecommutation rising and falling edges needed for speed and rotationdirection detection at 610. The detected rising and falling edges areutilizes in processes 400 and 500 described above. Otherwise, at 612,the secondary controller 250 ignores the detected rising and fallingedges. The process edges at 614.

In an embodiment, the time threshold is greater than the time it takesto complete a full PWM cycle at any motor speed, but smaller than thetime it takes for a full rotor rotation at maximum speed. In anexemplary embodiment, the time threshold is between 20 to 500microseconds, preferably between 50 to 200 microseconds.

In an embodiment, where controller 230 is configured to electronicallybrake the motor upon trigger release or upon detection of a faultcondition. This is normally done by, for example, simultaneously drivingthe three low-side power switches to short the motor windings and causethe inductive current of the motor to stop the rotation of the rotor. Inthe event of a brake, the rising edges of UL, VL and WL occursimultaneously.

Similarly, during motor start-up, controller 230 may execute abootstrapping algorithm to charge a series of bootstrap capacitorswithin the gate driver 232 used to drive the high-side power switches.This is also performed by applying pulses to the power switchessimultaneously.

To account for braking and bootstrapping, according to an embodiment,secondary controller 250 is configured to ignore simultaneous risingedges or simultaneous falling edges of the low-side gate drive signals.For example, where secondary controller 250 monitors VL and UL signals,it compares the rising edges of VL and UL and ignores them for purposesof speed and direction detection if they are simultaneous or within atime threshold (e.g., several microseconds) of one another.

Another embodiment of the invention is described herein with referenceto FIG. 43 .

FIG. 43 depicts a partial block circuit diagram of power tool 10 aspreviously described, of which the power switch circuit 226, gate driver232, controller 230, and secondary controller 250 are only shown here,according to an embodiment. In this embodiment, secondary controller 250is utilized as a secondary check against the fault detection andprotection provided by the controller 230. This arrangement a singlefault tolerance mechanism for power tool 10 to meet regulatory safetystandards. Some examples of these secondary safety checks are describedherein.

In an embodiment, controller 230 and secondary controller 250 receive asignal from a Trigger State Unit 702, which changes the signal wheneverthe trigger switch is pressed or released. In an embodiment, thesecondary controller 250 makes corrective action if it detects that themotor is being driven (e.g. by detecting that the gate drive signals arebeing sequentially activated) while the trigger has not been pressed. Inan embodiment, secondary controller 250 may be used for self-resetprotection by ensuring that controller 230 alone cannot restart themotor, for example due to faulty code or outside electromagneticinterference. In self-reset protection, secondary controller 250 issuesstart and stop signals based on the signal from the Trigger State Unit702, and the motor is prevented from being powered unless bothcontroller 230 and secondary controller 250 are in agreement on motorstart.

In an embodiment, controller 230 and secondary controller 250 receive asignal from a Guard Detection Unit 704 indicative of whether a safetyguard has been detected around the output spindle of a power tool suchas a grinder. Some safety standards require that tools such as grindersbe prevented from being operated if no safety guard is installed by theuser. In an embodiment, the secondary controller 250 makes correctiveaction if it detects that the motor is being driven while no safetyguard has been detected.

In an embodiment, controller 230 and secondary controller 250 receive asignal from a Side Handle Detection and/or Actuation Unit 706 indicativeof whether a safety side handle has been attached to a side of a powertool such as a grinder. In a further embodiment, a second signal may beprovided indicative of whether the side handle is in fact being grippedby the user. Once again, side handle detection and/or grip detection aresafety features that may be desirable if not required for power toolssuch as grinders. In an embodiment, the secondary controller 250 makescorrective action if it detects that the motor is being driven while noside handle has been detected and/or the side handle is not beinggripped by the user.

In an embodiment, controller 230 and secondary controller 250 receive asignal from a Bale Handle Actuation Unit 708 indicative of whether abale handle is being actuated by a user on a tool such as a chain saw.In an embodiment, the secondary controller 250 makes corrective actionif it detects that the motor is being driven while the bale handle isnot being actuated by the user.

In an embodiment, in a power tool such as nailer, controller 230 andsecondary controller 250 receive a signal from a Contact Trip unit 710.Many nailers require the trigger switch and the contact trip to beactuated in sequence for the tool to operate safely. In an embodiment,the secondary controller 250 can monitor the inputs from the TriggerState Unit 702 and the Contact Trip unit 710 to determine that thetrigger switch and the contact trip have been engaged in the correctsequence and take corrective action if the correct sequence has not beenfollowed.

In an embodiment, once again for a power tool such as a nailer,controller 230 and secondary controller 250 receive a signal from aMotor Position Sensor 712. Many nailers require that the motor run for alimited number of revolutions per trigger press. In an embodiment, MotorPosition Sensor 712 detects a linear position of the motor. Thesecondary controller 250 receives this signal and the input from theTrigger State Unit 702 to determine the motor travel distance from thetime of the trigger press. In an embodiment, the secondary controller250 makes corrective action if it detects that the motor has traveledtoo far relative to the trigger press.

In an embodiment, controller 230 and secondary controller 250 receiveother fault signals from the power tool (for example, from a thermistor716 disposed near the motor, the power electronics, transmissioncomponents, etc.) or from a battery pack 718 (e.g., batteryunder-voltage, over-current, over-temperature, or other faultconditions). In an embodiment, the secondary controller 250 makescorrective action upon receipt of any of these fault conditions.

In an embodiment, as described above, corrective action taken by thesecondary controller 250 includes, but is not limited to, disabling thegate driver 232, disabling the controller 230, disabling the powersupply regulator 234, or shutting off a switch (not shown) along thecurrent path to the motor. Alternatively, corrective action may entailelectronically braking the motor. Electronic braking of the motor isparticularly desirable where the motor may take too long to coast due tohigh inertia of the output accessory and/or where allowing the motor tocoast may be too dangerous to the user. In an embodiment, electronicbraking by secondary controller 250 may be self-executing, e.g., whensecondary controller 250 detects an over-speed or incorrect rotationcondition or based on tool or battery pack fault conditions examples ofwhich were described above.

FIG. 44 depicts a partial block circuit diagram of power tool 10 aspreviously described, of which the power switch circuit 226, gate driver232, controller 230, and secondary controller 250 are only shown here.FIG. 44 further illustrates the secondary controller 250 beingconfigured to override the drive signals to the power switch circuit 226to electronically brake the motor 16, according to an embodiment. In anembodiment, secondary controller 250 outputs two signals H-Brk andL-Brk. H-Brk is coupled to the high-side drive signals UH, VH and WH viadiodes 720. L-Brk is coupled to the low-side drive signals UL, VL and WLvia diodes 722. In an embodiment, controller 230 electronically brakingthe motor 16 by turning off the high-side power switches (i.e., bygrounding the gate drive signals UH, VH and WH) and simultaneouslyturning on the low-side power switches (i.e., by activating the gatedrive signals UL, VL and WL) to short the motor windings. This allow theinductive current of the motor to magnetically stop the rotation of therotor. As a secondary check against software or hardware failure ofcontroller 230, secondary controller 250 also electronically brakes themotor by grounding the H-Brk signal and driving the L-Brk signal toensure that the high-side power switches are simultaneously turned offand the low-side power switches are simultaneously turned on.

In an embodiment, secondary controller 250 may be configured to executesoft-braking by applying a pulse-width modulated (PWM) signal to theL-Brk signal. The duty cycle of the PWM signal controls the soft-brakingforce applied to the motor and accordingly the amount of time it takesfor the motor to come to a stop. In an embodiment, secondary controller250 may be configured to apply various braking profiles, examples ofwhich are disclosed in US Patent Publication No. 2017/0234484, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

In an embodiment, secondary controller 250 may output six signalsindividually coupled to UH, VH, WH, UL, VL and WL drive signals. Thisarrangement would require more output pins from the secondary controller250 chip, but dispose of diodes 720 and 722. In yet another embodiment,a logic block may be utilized (including, for example, AND logic for thehigh-side drive signals and OR logic for low-side drive signals) thatreceives drive signals from controller 230 and secondary controller 250and concurrently drives the gate signals.

Referring once again to FIG. 33 , in an embodiment, in addition tosensing the three lower gate drive signals, secondary controller 250 mayalso sense the ON/OFF status of the power tool based on, for example,the position of the power switch 236 of FIG. 33 , or based on a signalfrom the power tool trigger switch. In an embodiment, secondarycontroller 250 may be configured to prevent dangerous self-restart bycontroller 230. Dangerous restart of a power tool takes place when atool is coupled to a power source while the tool switch or trigger is inan ON position. In an embodiment, if controller 230 takes a correctiveaction resulting in all low-side drive signals simultaneouslyinactive—for example, by allowing the motor to coast—while the powerswitch 236 is still ON, the secondary controller 250 will assert itscorrective action and will continue to disable supply of power to themotor 16 unless it senses power switch 236 change to OFF, and then to ONagain. Similarly, in a system where controller 230 and/or secondarycontroller 250 are configured to electronically brake the motor 16 bysimultaneously activating the low-side drive signals, when secondarycontroller 250 senses that the three low-side drive signals aresimultaneously activated with the power switch in the ON position, itwill assert its corrective action and will continue to disable supply ofpower to the motor 16 unless it senses power switch 236 change to OFF,and then to ON again. These actions by the secondary controller 250prevent the motor 16 from restarting, after a corrective action, so longas the power tool trigger or power switch remains ON, even if thecondition responsible for the corrective action has passed.

The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided forpurposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or featuresof a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particularembodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be usedin a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described.The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to beregarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modificationsare intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularexample embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As usedherein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and“having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of statedfeatures, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, butdo not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groupsthereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described hereinare not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance inthe particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specificallyidentified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood thatadditional or alternative steps may be employed.

When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,”“connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may bedirectly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element orlayer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast,when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engagedto,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another elementor layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Otherwords used to describe the relationship between elements should beinterpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directlybetween,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein,the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more ofthe associated listed items.

Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein todescribe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections,these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should notbe limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguishone element, component, region, layer or section from another region,layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numericalterms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearlyindicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region,layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element,component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachingsof the example embodiments.

Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,”“lower,” “above,” “upper,” “bottom,” “lower,” and the like, may be usedherein for ease of description to describe one element or feature'srelationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in thefigures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass differentorientations of the device in use or operation in addition to theorientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in thefigures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” otherelements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elementsor features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both anorientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented(rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relativedescriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A power tool comprising: a brushless motorhaving a stator defining a plurality of phases, a rotor rotatablerelative to the stator, and a plurality of power terminals electricallyconnected to the plurality of phases; a power unit having a plurality ofpower switches connected electrically between a power source and theplurality of motor terminals and operable to deliver power to the motor;and a control unit interfaced with the power unit to output a drivesignal to one or more of the plurality of motor switches to drive theplurality of phases of the motor over a plurality of sectors of therotor rotation, the control unit being configured to detect an initialposition of the rotor, commutate the motor beginning at the initialposition of the rotor using a low-speed motor commutation scheme untilan output speed of the rotor exceeds a speed threshold, and commutatethe motor based on a back-electromotive force (back-EMF) voltage of themotor after the output speed of the rotor exceeds the speed threshold,wherein in the low-speed commutation scheme, the control unit applies afirst plurality of voltage pulses to a present sector of the pluralityof sectors and a second plurality of voltage pulses to a next sector ofthe plurality of sectors, and detects a transition of the rotor from thepresent sector to the next sector based on motor current measurementsassociated with the first plurality of voltage pulses and the secondplurality of voltage pulses, wherein the control unit is configured tocompare slopes of the motor current measurements and detect thetransition of the rotor from the present sector to the next sector whenthe current measurement associated with one of the first plurality ofvoltage pulses has a larger slope than the current measurementassociated with a corresponding one of the second plurality of voltagepulses.
 2. The power tool of claim 1, wherein the control unit isconfigured to measure the time it takes for each of the motor currentmeasurements associated with the first and second pluralities of voltagepulses to reach a preset threshold, and compares the time measurementsto detect the transition from the present sector to the next sector. 3.The power tool of claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured totransition commutation from the present sector to a previous sector ofthe plurality of sectors by applying a third plurality of voltage pulsesto the previous sector, measuring motor currents associated with thefirst and third plurality of voltage pulses, and comparing correspondingmotor current measurements to detect a transition of the rotor from thepresent sector to the previous sector.
 4. The power tool of claim 3,wherein the control unit is configured to detect an incorrect rotationof the motor when it detects the transition of the rotor from thepresent sector to the previous sector.
 5. The power tool of claim 1,wherein the control unit is configured to calculate the output speed ofthe motor based on frequency of commutation transitions of the rotorfrom the present sector to the next sector.
 6. The power tool of claim1, wherein, after the output speed of the rotor exceeds the speedthreshold, the control unit is configured to measure theback-electromotive force (back-EMF) voltage of the motor on an openphase of the plurality of motor terminals and transition commutationfrom the present sector to the next sector in relation to the back-EMFvoltage.
 7. The power tool of claim 1, wherein the motor has a speedrange of zero to at least 18,000 rotations-per-minute.
 8. The power toolof claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to set a conductionband to a baseline value that is greater than 120 degrees, theconduction band corresponding to an angle within which one of theplurality of phases of the motor is commutated, and wherein, after theoutput speed of the rotor exceeds the speed threshold, the control unitis configured to set at least one commutation transition point as afunction of the set conduction band, and within each sector of theplurality of sectors of the rotor rotation, monitor an open-phasevoltage of the motor to detect the back electromotive force (back-EMF)voltage of the motor and control commutation of at least one phase basedon the open-phase voltage of the motor in relation to the at least onecommutation transition point.
 9. The power tool of claim 8, wherein theat least one commutation transition point includes a first transitionpoint associated with a leading edge of a commutation cycle of the atleast one phase and a second transition point associated with a trailingedge of a commutation cycle of the at least one phase.
 10. The powertool of claim 9, wherein the first transition point is a voltagethreshold set as a fraction of a maximum open-phase voltage, and thecontrol unit starts the commutation cycle when the open-phase voltageexceeds the voltage threshold.
 11. The power tool of claim 1, whereinthe control unit is configured to set a conduction band and an advanceangle, the conduction band corresponding to an angle within which one ofthe plurality of phases of the motor is commutated, and the advanceangle corresponding to an angle by which the conduction band is shiftedrelative to the corresponding phase, and wherein, after the output speedof the rotor exceeds the speed threshold, the control unit is configuredto set at least one commutation transition point as a function of theset advance angle, and within each sector of the plurality of sectors ofthe rotor rotation, monitor an open-phase voltage of the motor to detectthe back electromotive force (back-EMF) voltage of the motor and controlcommutation of at least one phase based on the open-phase voltage of themotor in relation to the at least one commutation transition point. 12.The power tool of claim 11, wherein the at least one commutationtransition point includes a first transition point associated with aleading edge of a commutation cycle of the at least one phase and asecond transition point associated with a trailing edge of a commutationcycle of the at least one phase.
 13. The power tool of claim 12, whereinthe first transition point is a voltage threshold set as a fraction of amaximum open-phase voltage, and the control unit starts the commutationcycle when the open-phase voltage exceeds the voltage threshold.
 14. Apower tool comprising: a brushless motor having a stator defining aplurality of phases, a rotor rotatable relative to the stator, and aplurality of power terminals electrically connected to the plurality ofphases; a power unit having a plurality of power switches connectedelectrically between a power source and the plurality of motor terminalsand operable to deliver power to the motor; and a control unitinterfaced with the power unit to output a drive signal to one or moreof the plurality of motor switches to drive the plurality of phases ofthe motor over a plurality of sectors of the rotor rotation, the controlunit being configured to detect an initial position of the rotor,commutate the motor beginning at the initial position of the rotor usinga low-speed motor commutation scheme until an output speed of the rotorexceeds a speed threshold, and commutate the motor based on aback-electromotive force (back-EMF) voltage of the motor after theoutput speed of the rotor exceeds the speed threshold, wherein in thelow-speed commutation scheme, the control unit applies a first pluralityof voltage pulses to a present sector of the plurality of sectors and asecond plurality of voltage pulses to a next sector of the plurality ofsectors, and detects a transition of the rotor from the present sectorto the next sector based on motor current measurements associated withthe first plurality of voltage pulses and the second plurality ofvoltage pulses, wherein the first plurality of voltage pulses and thesecond plurality of voltage pulses have the same pulse widths, thecontrol unit being configured to compare amplitudes of motor currentmeasurements and detect the transition from the present sector to thenext sector when the current measurement associated with one of thefirst plurality of voltage pulses has a larger amplitude than thecurrent measurement associated with a corresponding one of the secondplurality of voltage pulses.